THE GUARDS WERE RATHER CHIPPER WHEN THEY CAME BACK TO THE CLOCK TOWER.

It wasn't hard to understand why- they'd finally defeated one of the many threats that now plagued their coven. Luna had been particularly happy as she strolled along, giving me a wink as she turned a corner into Caius' office.

Of course, there was still a lockdown, one that wouldn't be lifted until Andrei was ripped apart and burned. I understood that and wanted to stay inside. Heidi had been doing her job in bringing everyone food once a week. I was content where I was, but I did have things that I had to do.

Mainly figuring out what we were doing with the Cullens since they clearly haven't turned Bella. Time was ticking and Caius and Marcus were insisting that I be here for the meeting, since I did know the Cullen Coven personally.

So we were in Aro's office, two days after the guards came home. Like always, the opinions between us differed on what was going on and what we should do.

Caius was sure that they were intentionally not turning Bella as a way to try and prove that the Volturi were tyrants. I wasn't sure that was why they weren't making the move on it. Like, sure, they could be under the assumption that we were all tyrants, but not turning Bella wouldn't prove that. It wouldn't do much of anything except to raise red flags.

Aro took a different approach. He did believe that it was intentional, but he thought that it was because Edward never wanted to turn her. He did have some proof, the memories of Edward could show that he didn't want Bella to ever be a vampire. I would believe him if he thought that.

The last brother, Marcus, was very much denying that this was intentional. He did not agree with his brothers that the Cullens could be so stupid as to intentionally not turn Bella Swan. Assuming that they wanted to keep their heads, Bella had to be turned. It was a more sympathetic approach, I had to admit, and may have given them a bit more leeway than I'd expected.

"We have to manage this before things get worse," Caius insisted. "Our relations with the New World Covens are deteriorating as we speak."

"Nobody is going to back them," Marcus gave his opinion, "Even if you are correct, these children are not intelligent."

"I would believe that if Alice wasn't so closely connected to the Cullens," Aro said. "Her gift gives her the ability to see many futures. I did see some where Bella was human. She may be trying to go along with that."

"That would be in poor taste," Marcus told them all.

"She is their own, they will listen to her and plot against us. Can you not see it?" Caius was sure of his own ideas at this point.

"I know Alice well enough to somewhat agree with you, Caius, but I also agree that Edward doesn't want to turn her. If he did, he would have taken her with his family to New York and pretended she was in college to her family," I said.

This whole situation made little to no sense for me. I knew that I was turned in an unconventional way. Attempted murder. Most vampires don't fail to kill someone. Bella had the chance to be turned by Carlisle, who had turned many others. Why would he not do it?

"He just doesn't want to," Aro stated. "There must not be more than that. Carlisle would never plot against us, that would mean he has turned against me."

"Carlisle has been selfish for the last century, have you not noticed?" Caius again. "He has been against our ways of life, is it so far to say that he is against us? So unreasonable."

I had to admit that I was coming to agree more and more with the sentiment that Alice and Edward were turning people against the Volturi. With each friend they made, more people had heard things about the way my boyfriends ruled.

It was just an assumption on their part, though. I was perfectly happy here. I'd only taken the lives of people who had harmed people to an extent that I really didn't care about their lives. In a way, we were sort of doing the world a favor.

"They drink animal blood, which is now becoming an issue due to the insane number of animals that are endangered. How are we to even allow that to continue?" Caius had a point. He really did. "We can't support this much longer. They are hunting these things to extinction alongside humans! Our allies have been complaining for the past thirty years, how do you plan to placate them?"

"You are getting off topic-"

Caius cut off Aro before he got the chance to continue, "-all of these things are important, are they not? The Cullens have lived in ways that we cannot support based on current facts."

According to Aro, Caius never supported vampires eating animals. Not because it was below them, but due to humans needing them for food. It wasn't that long ago that humanity had to hunt on their claimed lands for food. The Volturi had provided for food during that day and age, to grow the population and to make sure that bad people always existed.

"I just think that we can discuss that later."

"Aro, have we never discussed two things at once? The Cullens can't be allowed to destroy the native species of America. I have already received complaints from those Shifter Wolves this weekend about it. Their lands should be respected."

"Now you're bringing up a territory issue-"

"-They are all issues! Which is the entire point! The Cullens, particularly that Edward boy and Alice, have created far too many issues for us. Carlisle is their leader, he is supposed to manage them."

"Aro, Caius only means to share that we have a lot more issues with the Cullens than we had realized," Marcus chimed in. "Which I agree with. However, whether or not they are being intentionally harmful is another story."

"I do not see how you could think they are not." Caius groaned and pushed himself back into the office chair.

"Carlisle just doesn't think like that, Caius," I tried to reason with him. "His kids? Rosalie and Emmett probably don't like the situation they're in right now. Jasper has already left, don't we just ask him about what he thinks?"

"You are supposed to be the one to speak for the family, not him. You were never able to be manipulated by those two schemers," Caius reminds me.

Being human in that family gave me a few advantages, sure. I was being lied to, but at least I wasn't so connected to them. I didn't feel like I had to protect them in the same way I'd protect someone in the Guard. Like I would still protect Chrissy, because I knew she had good intentions, despite what she did.

Did the Cullens have good intentions? I couldn't imagine Carlisle having anything but good intentions. He'd always been so kind to people, to his family. The kind of friend you went to when you really didn't know how to respond to something.

Rosalie and Emmett were good people, I knew that. They couldn't be in on whatever potential schemes were going on in that family.

That left two people. Three if you included Bella. Edward and Alice. Two people that usually hung out together, hyped each other up. They weren't close with me, had been talking poorly about me once I left and once I was turned against my will. That couldn't be good. You don't just... do that. I had only met people who talked behind people's back in that outward way in high school. They were constantly going to high school, I suppose.

"Edward and Alice are people I never want to see again, if only because they've talked badly about me." I sighed. "We should summon them and the Shifters to Volterra, hold a proper hearing and discuss all of these issues with them present. The entire group, mates and such included, unless under the age of eighteen."

It was risky, sure. There could be a fight, we'd have to have serious protections for both groups in place.

They wouldn't fit in the throne room either. We needed a bigger place. Did we have one?

"The ballroom could fit everyone," Marcus mentioned. "We would have to lift the lockdown for at least a week. We'd be risking another attack in order to resolve this issue."

He was right. It wasn't just the people that needed protection, but it would be us. With Andrei potentially looking to take me or someone else? We aren't fully safe. I'm not safe until that man is torn apart and burned in the furnace.

"He hasn't been seen, nobody has heard anything from him since that girl was dropped off in La Push," Aro told all of us. "He is scared of those wolves, he doesn't know that they can't kill us with a bite. They aren't children of the moon, but he instantly assumed they were."

"If he smelled them in Italy, he'd run for it. He's a coward," Caius snapped. "He hides behind fear. The mere fear of the idea of him has pushed us into leaving him alone. He knows we fear the Children of the Moon. He'd believe that they came after us. He would not dare to come through these gates with that fear of his."

Wasn't that the case with every abuser? They were cowards, would rather kill and abuse women than be a good person. People often say that it takes nothing to be kind, but they must be liars. It takes your whole self to not upset people, to have compassion for others. Andrei has no ability to do that, it's so hard for him. So he doesn't try and rather blames it on everyone else.

It's so much easier to stay an asshole than to try and be a nice person.

"We still must be careful, since you won't let me kill him." Marcus sighed. "We have a Coven to keep safe."

"We also have laws that we have to implement," I told him. "You are the Kings, you make the rules. That means you have to do whatever it takes to make sure the laws are enforced. People will not respect you if you leave the Cullens alone."

The truth was that it didn't matter what the motives of the Cullens were. Sure, Carlisle could be allowing it, enabling Edward and Alice, but the fact of the matter is that the sacred laws have been broken.

They could have broken any law! Bella could have told her father while being a vampire herself and they would have treated it the same. They had to.

"Which one of you will send out the formal summons?" Marcus asked.

"Perhaps you will, Marcus. Your first call to summons since the Age of Faith!" Caius said with a considerable amount of sass. "I will write up the claims and our evidence for the Cullens. Aro, you may process the land forms."

"I believe I left them in the library," Aro said as he began to get off of his chair. "River, you will have to act in this trial since you are now a vampire. I assure you that all of our Elite Guard will be in the ballroom while this happens, as well as plenty of our lower guards."

"Just make sure that only the Cullens and the Wolves know about this meeting. We can't risk other Covens being alerted and this somehow getting back to Andrei. It would make him realize that the wolves aren't children of the moon," I said.

Good, we could all be in agreement on what the next step was.

The hearing would be interesting, at least.